Spot Check- Stevens Pass, Washington

You’ll find Stevens Pass, not surprisingly, on the top of Stevens Pass- two hours east of Seattle (about 78 miles) on U.S. Highway 2. Like most Northwest resorts, its more of a daytrip area. Get an early start; grab some yellow goggle lenses, a latte, and some friends. With over 450 inches of annual resort snowfall, if its raining in Seattle, its probably snowing at Stevens.—Annie Fast

You’re looking at probably the best park in Washington. Teamriders Marni Yamada and Elan Bushell jib their sticks through this park daily. The Brooks lift runs the length of the 25 acres of tabletops and rails, which leads into the only Superpipe in Washington State. The pipe is located on the lower half of Waterfall. Marni Yamada says, “It’s definitely fun enough to lap through all winter long, and the jumps really progress through the winter.” There’re also minirails and a minipipe by the Daisy lift.

Freeriding

Stevens is basically two mountains encompassing five different areas, including the lower frontside, Big Chief Mountain, Tye Bowl, 7th Heaven, and Mill Valley on the backside. Locals don’t know the names of the runs any better than you, so just choose the frontside or backside, depending on the wind. The terrain is classic Northwest: steeps, chutes, rollers, and snow-ghosted fir trees—it’s all here.

Try taking Big Chief to the Double-Diamond triple and dropping into Big Chief Bowl, or off the backside to Mill Valley. The backside has wide-open meadows, gulches, and steep glades (Corona Glades). Local rider Joey McGuire says, “The park at Stevens is fun, but the terrain getting to the park is even more fun.” He’s talking about the super steep Bobby and Nancy Chutes off the three-minute 7th Heaven chair. Ah, Northwest riding. Now, squeegee those goggle lenses, shake out that Gore, and do it all again.

Good Times

Take a time out at dusk in the Soft Landing Bar for fresh local drafts, live music, and cute bartenders, then head back out for a night session. You can also hit the Whistling Port down in Skykomish.

Don’t Miss

Stevens Pass isn’t messin’ around when it comes to the Snowskate Park. The 4,000-square-foot park comes complete with rails, boxes, tables, and a quarterpipe. Five bucks will get you in.

Also, be on the lookout for the Sound Strait Productions crew filming their follow-up to this year’s local hit Couching Tiger.

Food

You’ve only got a few options. The Tye Creek Deli has sandwiches, soups, nachos and baked potatoes. The Iron Goat Pizza Station has pizza. If you’re in a hurry, grab a burger from the Outer Limits Grill on the west end of the Pacific Crest Lodge. Chill out in the Bull’s Tooth with adult beverages and pub food.

Lodging

The closest lodging option (besides snuggled up with your malamute in the bed of your truck in the parking lot) is sixteen miles west down the road in Skykomish or about an hour east in Leavenworth. Otherwise, Stevens has an RV overnight parking area above Lot A with electrical hook-ups for 30 dollars a night on weekends and holidays and ten dollars a night the rest of the time—they’re available on a first-come, first-served basis (unless you have an RV season pass).